Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1887-07-02

this noun is sometimes used to denote sthe
East" The word worship hero may mean
to do homage or ''show reverence but it
may refer to On act of religious alteration.
There would seem to have been In the minds
OF the Magi desire and hope for light in the
line Of the messianic idsa, ct least in some
sense or degree.
Verse 3.-And iohen Herod tie King heard
it, he auds troubled, and all Jerusalem icitb
him. The form of expression seems to indi-
cate that Herod did not know of the arrival
Of the Magi and the object Of their visit until
some time after they had reached tho city
When he received the information, he was
troubled. The verb in this case conveys the
idea of being agitated by reason of fear or
dread as to the possible consequences to him
self. The agitation Of mind on the part Of
the people of Jerusalem, on the other hand,
quences which might result Tor themselves.
Whether Hero1 should finally loss his throne
because OF this new King or NOT, the people
! would be likely to suffer through the violent
measures which be might adopt for the Sc
curity Of his own power and the overthrow
OF his adversary. The people, worn away
by seditions and slaughters,n says Afford,
''icared fresh tumuits and vars Tney
feared them especially, SO far as they were
not devoted paItisans of Herod, in view OF
what they had reascntoa apprehend from him.
So far as they were his partisans, on the
other hand, they feared the possible destruc-
lion Of their leader and themselves.
Verse 4.--And gathering together ell the
chief priests ard scri5es of tie peopie he
inquired Of them tvhere the Christ should 6o
born. 1t IS uncertain whether the words OF
! this verse refer to a formal meeting of the
Jewish Sanhedrin, of which the scrIoes and
chief-priests were members, or not. More
probably, Herod summoned large company
Of these men who were learned in this lnat-
| ter, land submitted the question to them as
\ learned men, rather thau in their capacity as
the cocncil of the nation. The frequency with
! which the term " chief priest y occurs in the
| Gospels as referring to one section of the
membership Of the Sanhedrin, may lead us
to believe that the word, as here employed,
includes not only the high priest and those who
had held this Office, but also tie neads OF the
swenty-four classes of priests mentioned in
Chronicles "a. These prominent persons,
| as well as the scribes whose business it was
to study the Old Testament, would be best
Qualified TO answer the question proposed
The question, if the Greek words are literally
translated, is, Where is The Christ born? that
Is, Where, according to the Old Testament
declarations, etc, does the birth OF Christ
take placl The form of the question is that
which the author may have supposed Heroi
TO use in presenting his inquiry to the Jewish
authorities. =
Verses 5, 6.--And theu said unto him, In
Bethlehem of Juded !: for thus it is 1critte1s
by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, land of
JNddh, art IN no 1riSe least among TIE
princes of Judah for out Of thee shall come
forth a governor, tciich shall be shepherd Of
| ny people Israel: The Old Testament pas
age here quoted is taken from Micah ", 9.
rhers are several changes in the words given
| hv Matthew as compared with those found
| II; the Old Testament, but they arc not OF
vital Importance as related to the thought
! The principal one is this: Matthew says,
"Thou art in no wise least among the princes
of Judah: for out of thee" etc. Micah says:
"Thou, small for ''too small''l J to be among
the thousands of Judah, out of thee will come
| forth . etc, This difference, however, Is ons
of no special Significance so far ss the main
idea Of the passage is concerned. MAJ.
thew spsaks as if from the thought OF what
comes forth from Bethlehem-ir view ,,i oi
| this. thou art by no neAns the least 4Le
prophet speaks as if from the opposite start
| ing-point: "Though too small, :. yet the
ruler of Israel will come from thee The
change from thousands to "princesa may
possibly be connected with tendency to-
ward sort of personification in Matthew 5
use of the passage, substitution of princes"
| for the larger divisions or families of the
tribes which might have such head or chief
man, or, as some have supposed, the word in
| Matthew may have been translated from
, different Hebrew wor1 having the saine con-
| sonants but not the same vowel sounds, with
that in Micah. There can be no reasonable
doubt that the ruler referred to in the pro-
| phetic passage is the Messiah.
| Verse 7.-Thejt Herod Iririly called
! the 1rtSe men and learned of them care
fitily chat time the star appeared: The
word "privly' may suggest the idea OF
! O treacherous concealment, which would De
altogether in accordance with Herod's charac-
| ter; but it may mean nothing more than
r.. IL. Trl l.
Acts xvi, 27; Matthew /, 10 The word
rendered carefully by the Revised Version
may perhaps be better translated by ''ac-
curateiy" The exact meaning Of the phrase
rendered "what time the star appsare1'
(''literally, 'the time Of the appearing st2r")
is ncertain--whether the words mean when
the star first appeared or ''how long time
had passed since it first appeared In either
case, Hero1, in endeavoring 10 gain all the
knowledge which the wise men could give,
made it a point TO determine tho time of the
first rising of the star, as bearing upon the
birth Of the new king, or upon the action
which he should take in consequence of that
event There may be a connection, possibly,
In this regaid, between this verse and verse
16 of this chapter.
Verse 6-Ind he sent them to Bethlehem,
and said, Go and search out carefully con-
ceTminq The young child; and lchen ye hore
found him, bring me igoipt, that also may
search OUT is the rendering of q word which
occurs in only two other places in the New
Testament Matt. K, II: John xxi, ~. In
connection with the adverb which is added to
il, it suggests an examination into the matter
with scrutiny and accuracy. Hero1 laid his
plans thus carefully, in order that he might
know all that was TO be learned respecting
the child. He gives to the Dlagi false rea-
son for his desire to get the information; but
this seemed TO him essential TO the success OF
his plan The word worship in this versa,
probably means do reverence"
Verses 9, 10-And they, haring heard the
King, ,lOeRt their icdy, aud 10, The star, tchtch
then sdlC IN the cast. icent before them, tn u
came and stood orer tchere the goung child
iDds. And ighen they san the star, they re-
joiced rith ercceding great Joy: The natural
impression derived from these verses would
seem TO he that the Magi had not seen The
star since they left their home in the east. II
is possible however. that verse 10 refers only
to rejoicing on their part that the star,
/ which had guided them to Jerusalem, now
appeared again 10 guide them to Bethlehem.
The words in the east may mean, as in
verse ., ''at its rising" The statement
OF the second part of verse 8, when taken
in connection with the opening words
OF verse TO- indicates n movement Of the stai
until il came 70 the house whero the child was
and a resting or stopping above that house
II this is tho meaning, or, indeed, If tho
village rather than the house is referred tc